As India is moving forward, its time for our administration to revisit some of the laws which have been in place for centuries and now should be abolished.

In September 2018, the supreme court of India decriminalised section 377 of the IPC, which criminalized unnatural sex, including homosexual sex, after decades of struggle. This law was established by the British Raj during their reign in India. Shockingly, this same law was abolished in Britain in 2009, but India refused to move forward. It became a taboo, which wasn’t part of the Indian culture but something that the British brought.

It took us several petitions and hearing to abolish this backward and unjust law. Just like section 377 of IPC, there are several other laws which have been the part of the Indian constitution for centuries and have not changed with time. Most of those are the laws which were established during the British Raj.

In December 2017, the Lok Sabha passed a repealing and amending bill as a result of which about 245 archaic laws were abolished and repealed and around 1200 were discussed for amendment. Even after this, some laws are still in their places which are a threat to democracy and the fundamental rights of people.

Sedition Section 124A under IPC is defined as “contempt or hatred excited against the government through written or spoken word or visual representation”. For years many cases have been file under sedition against journalists, activists and comedians in the name of sedition for merely exercising their right to speech and expression. Students activist are being termed as “anti-nationals” for criticising the government which exploitation of their fundamental rights. It was established by the British Raj to curb the voices of the revolutionaries. This law is still in action and its harmful to a democratic country.

Unlawful Assembly Section 141 under IPC is defined as “ assembly of five or more persons become unlawful if the common intention of all the members is to show criminal force or resist the execution of law” this was introduced by the British Raj in 1860 to stop the mutiny and was used as a weapon against the revolutionaries that came up in 1857. This takes people’s right to protest. On many occasions, people who were doing peaceful protests were also held in legal custody. Asking and demanding rights and answers from the government becomes difficult with such a law in place.

Adultery Section 497 under IPC is defined as “a man having sexual intercourse with a married woman, without the consent of her husband”. This law is beyond logic and it objectifies women. According to this law, the woman is considered property and she doesn't have autonomy. If a man seduces a married woman, then he is subjected to up to five years in prison. This law talks about the “husband's consent” but not the woman’s.

Dramatic Performance Act, 1876 was also implemented by the Raj to stop the revolutionary ideas from spreading through theatrical means.

All of the laws which are listed above have been abolished by the British government but for some reason, we haven’t. these laws are a real threat to the integrity of our country which is held by democracy and if that crumbles, the systems can fall. These are the laws which have no means or reason to be relevant.å

CHANGING THE WAYS: ARCHAIC LAWS WHICH INDIA SHOULD ABOLISH

As India is moving forward, its time for our administration to revisit some of the laws which have been in place for centuries and now should be abolished.

In September 2018, the supreme court of India decriminalised section 377 of the IPC, which criminalized unnatural sex, including homosexual sex, after decades of struggle. This law was established by the British Raj during their reign in India. Shockingly, this same law was abolished in Britain in 2009, but India refused to move forward. It became a taboo, which wasn’t part of the Indian culture but something that the British brought.

It took us several petitions and hearing to abolish this backward and unjust law. Just like section 377 of IPC, there are several other laws which have been the part of the Indian constitution for centuries and have not changed with time. Most of those are the laws which were established during the British Raj.

In December 2017, the Lok Sabha passed a repealing and amending bill as a result of which about 245 archaic laws were abolished and repealed and around 1200 were discussed for amendment. Even after this, some laws are still in their places which are a threat to democracy and the fundamental rights of people.

Sedition Section 124A under IPC is defined as “contempt or hatred excited against the government through written or spoken word or visual representation”. For years many cases have been file under sedition against journalists, activists and comedians in the name of sedition for merely exercising their right to speech and expression. Students activist are being termed as “anti-nationals” for criticising the government which exploitation of their fundamental rights. It was established by the British Raj to curb the voices of the revolutionaries. This law is still in action and its harmful to a democratic country.

Unlawful Assembly Section 141 under IPC is defined as “ assembly of five or more persons become unlawful if the common intention of all the members is to show criminal force or resist the execution of law” this was introduced by the British Raj in 1860 to stop the mutiny and was used as a weapon against the revolutionaries that came up in 1857. This takes people’s right to protest. On many occasions, people who were doing peaceful protests were also held in legal custody. Asking and demanding rights and answers from the government becomes difficult with such a law in place.

Adultery Section 497 under IPC is defined as “a man having sexual intercourse with a married woman, without the consent of her husband”. This law is beyond logic and it objectifies women. According to this law, the woman is considered property and she doesn't have autonomy. If a man seduces a married woman, then he is subjected to up to five years in prison. This law talks about the “husband's consent” but not the woman’s.

Dramatic Performance Act, 1876 was also implemented by the Raj to stop the revolutionary ideas from spreading through theatrical means.

All of the laws which are listed above have been abolished by the British government but for some reason, we haven’t. these laws are a real threat to the integrity of our country which is held by democracy and if that crumbles, the systems can fall. These are the laws which have no means or reason to be relevant.å